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Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, Kings Royal Rifle Corps, Lieutenant, Middlesex, photography, Somerset, story, war

Lieutenant Vincent Mellor

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Lieutenant Vincent Mellor

Vincent Charles Serocold Mellor was born in Chelsea, Middlesex, in the spring of 1897. The younger of two children, his parents were Chief Solicitor to the Treasury – and later Sir – John Paget Mellor and his Australian-born wife, Mabel. The 1901 census recorded the family living on Chelsea Embankment, with four servants: a cook, a nurse and two housemaids.

For someone with a relatively high standing in Edwardian England, there is surprisingly little documentation relating to Vincent – who was known as Vin. His name does not appear in the 1911 census, although nor does his family.

At some point, Vincent was given a commission in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, but his service records are lost to time, which makes it impossible to find any specific information about his military career. Lieutenant Mellor’s headstone confirms that he served in Palestine, and that he fell ill while in the Middle East.

Vincent returned to Britain for treatment, and was admitted to the Red Cross Hospital for Officers in Portland Place, London. Whatever his condition, he was to succumb to it: he passed away on 21st March 1919, aged just 20 years of age.

Vincent Charles Serocold Mellor was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful graveyard of St Paul’s Church in Churchstanton, close to the family’s country home, and the same church in which he had been baptised two decades before.

Lieutenant Vincent Mellor
(from findagrave.com)
Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, Somerset, story, unknown, war

Sapper John Gage

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Sapper John Gage

The life of John Gage seems destined to remain a mystery. His grave lies in a quiet corner of St Andrew’s Churchyard in West Hatch, Somerset. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission registration reads:

GAGE, Spr. John, 95027. “G” Depot Coy. Royal Engineers. 7th July 1919. Son of John Gage; husband of Lucy Gage, of Canal Cottage, Wrantage, Taunton. Born at Axminster, Devon.

There is no date of birth for John, and, while there is a possible census return for 1891, with a John Gage Sr and Jr living in the Axminster area, in isolation it is not concrete enough to connect to the man lying in St Andrew’s Churchyard.

The Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects confirms Lucy as John’s widow, but again no marriage documents remain to give a date for the nuptials or ages for the bride and groom. The document does confirm that Sapper Gage had been serving in the Royal Engineers for more than six months at the time of his passing, and that he died in a military hospital in Taunton.

There are no contemporary newspapers that report on John’s passing, which would indicate that is was nothing out of the ordinary, or connected directly to the war – through injury, for example. This might suggest, therefore, that John passed away though illness, although this cannot be confirmed either way.

Sapper John Gage’s life is set to be lost to time, therefore. He lies in the graveyard of St Andrew’s Church in West Hatch. Nearby is another grave, that of Lucy Gage, who died in 1942.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, photography, Prince of Wales Leinster Regiment, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Edward Paul

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Private Edward Paul

Edward James Paul was born in Curry Mallet, Somerset, early in 1888, one of nine children to William and Eliza Paul. William was a stone mason, but Edward and his brothers went into agricultural labouring when they finished their schooling. Eliza and Edward’s sisters found employment making and finishing clothes.

Little further information about Edward’s early life is available but when war broke out, he stepped up and volunteered. Full details about his military service are no longer evident, but he enlisted early in 1915, joining the Prince of Wales’ Leinster Regiment.

Assigned to the 6th Battalion, Private Paul’s Medal Roll Card confirms that he was sent overseas on 9th July 1915, destined for the Dardanelles, and Gallipoli.

How long Private Paul served in the Balkans for is unclear, but he was back on British shores by early in 1916, and had been admitted to a hospital in Birmingham, having fallen ill. Again, details are sketchy, but he was to succumb to the condition on 15th February, at the age of 27 or 28.

Edward James Paul’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in the quiet graveyard of St James’ Church, in his home village, Curry Mallet.

Canada, Canadian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Driver, Great War, history, illness, India, Kent, photography, Royal Field Artillery, Sergeant, Somerset, story, war

Serjeant Robert Priddle

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Serjeant Robert Priddle

Zebulon Priddle was born in the autumn of 1876 in Curry Mallet, Somerset. One of ten children, who included Meliam, Cornelius, Absalom, Ebenezer, Lancelot and Jabez, his parents were Robert and Mary Priddle.

Robert was a farm labourer, and his son followed suit at first, but a career away from home beckoned and, on 16th January 1894, he enlisted in the Royal Artillery. Aged just 18 years and 2 months, Zebulon had volunteered in the Somerset Light Infantry, a militia group at that point. His service records confirm that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall and weighed 122lbs (55.3kg).

Driver Priddle was based on home soil for eighteen months before his wish for a life of adventure was realised. On 16th September 1894, his battalion set sail for India, and he was to remain there for more than six years. Zebulon returned to Britain in February 1902, where he was placed on reserve status. He completed his twelve years’ service in January 1906, and stepped down from the army.

Britain’s shores could not contain Zebulon, however, and at some point he emigrated to Canada. Little information of his life in North America is available, other than that the move seemed to have provided him with an opportunity to change his name, as in documents from this point on he is known as Robert Priddle.

The next record for Robert is that of his re-enlistment when war broke out. He was living in Winnipeg by this point, and, as he gives his mother, Mary, as his next-of-kin, it seems that he did not marry or have children.

Robert joined up again on 16th December 1914, and was attached to the 9th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry. Promoted to the rank of Sergeant, he arrived back in England in March the following year. His time there was to be brief, however, and within a matter of weeks, Robert arrived on the Western Front.

Over the next six months, Sergeant Priddle’s health suffered significantly, and he had several periods in hospital. Initially suffering from bronchitis, in July 1915 he was medically evacuated to Britain with cardiac angina. He remained in England and, when rheumatism set in in October, he was transferred to reserve status.

Sadly, this was not to be the last time Sergeant Priddle’s health suffered: he was admitted to hospital in Shorncliffe, Kent, with a ruptured aortic aneurysm. He succumbed quickly, passing away on 25th January 1916, at the age of 39 years old.

The body of Robert Priddle was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest under his assumed name, in the peaceful graveyard of St James’ Church in his home village of Curry Mallet.

Captain, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, illness, London, Northamptonshire, photography, Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Army Service Corps, Somerset, story, Surrey, war

Captain John Cooper

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Captain John Cooper

John Bruce Cooper was born on 21st July 1869 in Croydon, Surrey. He was the oldest of eight children, all but one boys, to John and Maria Cooper. John Sr was a boot and shoe manufacturer whose business, by the time of the 1881 census, was employing around 600 people.

By 1901, the business was doing well. The family had moved to Northamptonshire, and were living at Delapré Abbey, on the outskirts of Northampton. They were now supported by fourteen servants living on site, while grooms, coachmen and gardeners were housed on the estate.

John Sr died in August 1906, while Maria passed away less than six months later. Their children, now aged between 25 and 37, went on to live their separate lives. Five of John Jr’s brothers remained in bootmaking, in Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Surrey, while one of them, Philip, took holy orders. John, however, sought a different route.

In April 1907, John married Violet Mary Gordon in Kensington, London. She was the daughter of a general in the Indian Army, and had been born in Simla. The couple settled in a house in Basingstoke, Hampshire, and went on to have two children: Thomas and Richard. The 1911 census records the family residing in Daneshill Cottage, with two live-in domestics. By this point John was noted as being a dealer in motor cars.

When war broke out, John felt duty bound to serve his country. Little information about his military career remains documented, but a contemporary newspaper report of his funeral provides some indication of his service.

Captain Bruce Cooper… was formerly an officer of Territorial [Royal Army Medical Corps], being transport officer of the 2nd South-Western Mounted Brigade, and was stationed at Frome [Somerset]. Obtaining a commission in the [Army Service Corps], he was promoted captain, and was so proficient and zealous that he became Officer Commanding Vehicles at Bulford Camp, where he was held in the greatest esteem.

Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 27th November 1915

Captain Cooper fell ill in October 1915, and was suffering from phlebitis, or inflammation the veins. This was to prove fatal, and he passed away at the family home in Bath, Somerset, on 21st November 1915. He was 46 years of age.

John Bruce Cooper was laid to rest in a family plot in the cemetery of Bath Abbey. His older son, Thomas was laid to rest with him, when he passed away in 1949. Violet was reunited with her husband and son when she was buried with them in 1972.

Captain John Cooper (from ancestry.co.uk)
accident, Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Flight Cadet, Gloucestershire Regiment, Great War, Hertfordshire, history, Monmouthshire, photography, Private, Royal Air Force, Somerset, story, Wales, war

Flight Cadet Claude Rawlings

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Flight Cadet Claude Rawlings

Claude John Howard Rawlings was born on 5th November 1896 in the Monmouthshire village of Aberbeeg. One of three children, his parents were Sidney and Alice Rawlings. Sidney was a brewer from Bath, Somerset, while Alice was born in the Welsh village and this is where the couple raised their family.

By the time of the 1911 census, Claude had been sent to Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, and was a boarding student at the Brynmalyn Private School to the north of the town centre. His heritage would not have been out of place, though, as nine of the 25 live-in students were from Wales. Claude’s parents seemed to have taken the opportunity to visit Sidney’s mother in Bath, a possible prequel to them moving back to Somerset permanently.

Claude completed his schooling at Brynmalyn the following year, and took up a place as an agricultural student in Broadstone, Dorset. When war broke out, however, he was called upon to play his part.

Details of Claude’s military service are sketchy, but he initially enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment and was assigned to the 4th (City of Bristol) Battalion. The regiment service in France and Italy from 1915 onwards, but there is no evidence of Private Rawlings serving anywhere other than on home soil.

Claude wanted greater things, and was drawn to a life in the sky. In the spring of 1918, he transferred to the Royal Air Force, and was attached to 125 Squadron. Sent to Fowlmere Airfield near Royston, Hertfordshire, Flight Cadet Rawlings began his training. Over the next couple of months, he learnt to fly a Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 biplane.

Flight Cadet Rawlings was dong a routine practice flight on 12th August 1918, when, during a left hand turn, the aircraft’s side slipped and nose dived. The plane crashed to the ground, and Claude was killed instantly. He was just 21 years of age.

The body of Claude John Howard Rawlings was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Bath Abbey Cemetery.

Flight Cadet Claude Rawlings
(from britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)

Claude’s grave was a family plot, and he was reunited with his parents when Alice and Sidney died in 1933 and 1945 respectively.

The inscription on the family headstone gives Claude’s date of death as October 1918. All other records confirm the crash took place on 12th August, and that he died at the scene.

Canada, Canadian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, injury, Kent, London, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private John Cotterell

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Private John Cotterell

Much public interest was manifested in the funeral, on Thursday, of Private John St Clair Cotterell eldest son of Mr T Sturge Cotterell, JP, of Bath. Deceased, who was 26 years of age, was educated at Bath College, and left England to take up the life of a rancher in Canada. Here he joined the Alberta Rifles and saw service on the Western Front, where he was dangerously wounded in an attack on the Arras front on April 28th. He was, however, brought back to this country, only to succumb to his severe wounds in Westminster Hospital on Saturday. He leaves a widow and one child.

Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 19th May 1917

John St John Cotterell was born in Bristol, Gloucestershire, on 17th September 1891. One of six children, his parents were wallpaper manufacturer turned quarry manager Thomas Sturge Cotterell, and his wife, Edith. John remains noticeably absent from both the 1901 and 1911 censuses in which his parents and sibling – and servants – are recorded, so his early life is hard to piece together.

By 1908 John had emigrated to Canada to become a farmer. It was here that he met and married Gladys Nettleton. The couple settled in Alberta and had a daughter, Nellie, who was born in 1915.

When war came to Europe, John stepped up to play his part for King and Empire. He enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 8th March 1916, and was assigned to the 192nd Overseas Battalion. Private Cotterell’s service records confirm that he was 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall, weighed 117lbs (53kg) and had fair hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion.

Private Cotterell left Canada for Britain on 1st November 1916, arriving in Liverpool ten days later. He was transferred to the 9th (Service) Battalion of the Canadian Infantry, and barracked at St Martin’s Plain, near Folkestone in Kent. Early in 1917, he was moved to the 10th Battalion and, on 4th March was shipped off across the English Channel.

John’s arrival in France was not an auspicious one. Tightly packed barracks were a breeding ground for disease, and, by the time he had arrived in Le Havre, John had contracted mumps. He was laid up in a camp hospital for just over a month before returned to his battalion and heading to Arras.

Private Cotterell’s was severely injured in the fighting, and he received a gunshot wound to his spine. Medically evacuated to Britain, he was admitted to the Westminster Hospital in London. His medical report noted that his ‘1st lumbar vertebra [was] shattered and [spinal] cord [was] cut through‘. He had complete paralysis below the groin and that he was in a ‘hopeless condition‘. His injuries proved too severe, and he passed away on 13th May 1917, three days after being admitted. John was just 25 years of age.

John St Clair Cotterell’s body was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Bath’s Abbey Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Durham Light Infantry, Essex, Great War, history, illness, Labour Corps, photography, Private, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war

Private William Taylor

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Private William Taylor

Much of the life of William Charles Taylor is destined to remain lost to time. His Commonwealth War Grave Commission and military records give his father as Henry Taylor, while another document suggests his mother’s initial was E, but no birth, baptism or census records match the three names given.

The document that can be directly attributed to William is his military service records. They confirm that he enlisted in Bath, Somerset, on 18th February 1916, joining the Somerset Light Infantry. The document notes that he was 21 years and 7 months old when he enlisted, and stood 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall.

Initially assigned to the 10th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, within a couple of months, Private Taylor was transferred across to the Durham Light Infantry in July 1917. He remained on home soil for the duration of his time in service, and was moved across to the Labour Corps in March 1918.

By May that year, William had become unwell. He was based in Essex at this point, and was admitted to the Warley Military Hospital in Brentwood, suffering from tuberculosis. He spent six weeks in hospital, before finally being discharged from the army as he was no fit for military service.

At this point, William’s trail goes cold once more. He seems to have returned home to Bath, finally succumbing to tuberculosis on 15th September 1918. He was just 24 years of age.

William Charles Taylor was laid to rest in Bath’s Twerton Cemetery.

Commonwealth War Graves, Essex, Gloucestershire Regiment, Great War, Hampshire, history, India, injury, Malta, photography, Private, Sergeant, Somerset, Somerset Light Infantry, story, war, Wiltshire

Private Walter Fry

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Private Walter Fry

The youngest of three children to William and Annie, Walter Harold Fry was born in the summer of 1897 in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. William’s job as a railway guard and porter meant the family moved around the area and, by the time of the 1901 census, they had settled in Twerton, to the west of Bath.

Little information is available about Walter’s early life and, indeed, documents from that time seem to record him as both Walter Harold and Harold Walter. When war came to Europe, He was keen to serve his country, presumably because his older brother, William Jr, was already serving overseas in the Somerset Light Infantry.

Walter enlisted in the Gloucestershire Regiment, and, as a Private, was assigned to the 4th (City of Bristol) Battalion. His initial training took place in Wiltshire and Essex, but by March 1915, the battalion had been sent to the Western Front.

Private Fry’s service records no longer exist, by his headstone, in the family plot, suggests that he was injured in France in March 1916. He was medically evacuated back to Britain, although, again, details are sketchy, and admitted to a military hospital in Aldershot, Hampshire.

At this point, Walter’s trail goes cold. The next record for him is that of his passing, while still admitted to the hospital, on 31st December 1916. He was just 19 years of age.

The body of Walter Harold Fry was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Bath’s Twerton cemetery, a short walk from the family home.

Walter’s brother William had enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry by 1911. That year’s census recorded him as being billeted at St Andrew’s Barracks in Malta, but by the time war broke out, his troop, the 2nd Battalion, was based in Quetta, India.

He remained based in this far outpost for the duration of the conflict and, while his service records are no longer available, he seemed to have been dedicated to his job as, by October 1918, he had risen to the rank of Sergeant.

William was based in Rawalpindi by that point, and it was here that he died, through causes unknown, on 31st October 1918. He was 26 years of age.

Buried in Rawalpindi Military Cemetery, Sergeant William Fry is also commemorated on the family grave in Twerton.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, photography, Royal Engineers, Sapper, Somerset, story, suicide, war

Sapper James Osborne

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Sapper James Osborne

James Albert Edward Osborne was born early in 1887, in Weston, on the northern outskirts of Bath, Somerset. One of eight siblings, his parents were road labourer James and launderess Emily Osborne.

When he completed his schooling, James Jr found work as an ‘under brewer’, but soon took up woodwork. By the time of the 1911 census, he was employed as a jobbing carpenter, bringing in one of four wages into the family home.

On 25th May 1915, James married Frances Kettlety. Born in Twerton, near Bath, she was the daughter of a nurseryman. At the time of the wedding, she was working as a tailor’s machinist. The couple set up home in a terraced house in Locksbrook Road, Bath, and had a daughter, Joyce, who was born in May 1916.

War was closing in on Europe and, in December 1915, James enlisted. His trade made him ideal to join the Royal Engineers, and he signed up as a Sapper. His service records show that he was 5ft 4.5ins (1.64m) tall, weighed 144lbs (65.3kg) and note that his lower molars were absent.

Initially placed on Reserve, Sapper Osborne was mobilised on 8th May 1916, and sent to a camp near Whitchurch, Hampshire. Over the next year he served in the area and was billeted with a Mr and Mrs Carpenter. While details of the work he did are lost to time, there is nothing in his records to suggest that he was anything other than committed to what he was doing.

In the spring of 1917, Sapper Osborne began to suffer from headaches. He visited the camp doctor a couple of times for them, but, again, there is no detail about the outcome of these appointments. By the end of May, the pains were becoming severe, and James took drastic action.

On Sunday 27th May, he spent the morning with colleagues Sapper Trott and Private Sutcliffe, both of whom said he was in good form, and was talking as normal. They saw him again the following morning, but only in passing. James’ landlord said that he had not seen him on the Monday, and so set out to look for him.

[Mr Carpenter] found Osborne in a field about two miles away from his home; he was in the middle of a big double hedge and must have crawled through. [He] thought at first he was asleep, but when he went round to the other side of the hedge he could see that Osborne’s throat had been cut, but he did not touch him; he could see that he was dead… His hands, coat and trousers were covered with blood… Near his right hand was a blood-stained razor, this throat was cut and his windpipe severed He searched the deceased and in his tunic pocket found a letter… addressed to his wife, his mother, Lance-Corpl. Macey, two other mates and Mr and Mrs Carpenter…

Andover Advertiser: 1st June 1917

The inquest into Sapper Osborne’s dead returned a verdict of suicide while temporarily insane: he was 30 years of age.

James Albert Edward Osborne was brought back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Twerton Cemetery, not far from where his widow and daughter lived.